Current control panels for cockpits generally include a number of control mechanisms referred to as human-machine interfaces of various natures, e.g., human-machine interfaces of the rotary knob type, push button type, switch type or other similar type, which are manually manipulable by the pilot and by the co-pilot for the control of a function and/or the closed-loop control of onboard systems configured to perform various functions (functional systems).
The current control panels for cockpits are dedicated to the control of a function or to the closed-loop control of a predetermined system, to the extent one exists, for each of the systems with which the pilot or the co-pilot of the aircraft interacts. A specific control panel generally includes one or more activation components dedicated to the system or to the function being controlled.
Thus, the activation components and more generally the control panels for cockpits include information and indications which, are fixed by being etched during the manufacturing process onto gauge-glass luminaires or illuminated front faces, and dedicated to the controlled functions and systems. The information and indications correspond to states of components of an aircraft system to which a control panel 1 is assigned.
The customization or the configuration of the control panels for cockpits, for example, in order to assign them to other systems or in order to add other functionalities to them, is only possible by changing components that are mechanically integrated and wired into the control panels. These modifications are therefore very constraining and very costly since they require the deployment and the intervention of qualified operatives, together with the fabrication of new components.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background and therefore it may contain information that does not form art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.